NPR 2011-06-06

Agricultural officials say they think an organic farm in northern Germany was the source of the deadly E. coli outbreak that has sickened more than 2,000 people in Europe. Twenty-two people have died. Investigators¹ traced the bacteria to beansprouts but say other kinds of sprouts² from that farm may be implicated³.

Israeli troops fired on pro-Palestinian demonstrators today, trying to force their way into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Syrian state television is reporting at least 18 people were killed. Israeli military official Avital Leibovich says the soldiers had no choice but opened fire.

"We verbally warned them. We shot warning shots into the air. When this failed, we had to direct some fire to their feets in order to try and protect our fence. This is the border fence between Israel and Syria."

Several hundred protesters have gathered to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he feels inspired after meeting with Libyan leaders yesterday in Benghazi. Hague told the BBC he's convinced the rebels are committed to democracy. Larry Miller⁴ reports.

Secretary Hague says he discussed with rebel leaders a political road map for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

"There needs to be such a plan, and it's only in an embryonic⁵ stage for Libya to stabilize⁶ the situation after Gaddafi, but we're also encouraging the National Transitional Council to put more flesh on their proposed transition — to lay out in more detail this coming week what would happen on the day that Gaddafi went — who would be running what."

Hague says once Gaddafi falls, a peacekeeping force might be needed to help bring order in Libya with the African Union, the most likely contributor. He insists British troops won't be part of it. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Police in Pakistan say a bomb exploded at a bakery in the northwest part of the country today. At least 18 people were killed, and 35 others were wounded.

Some people battling floodwaters in the Missouri River say the Army Corps⁷ of Engineers should have released water long before the flooding was a problem. Gary Ellenbolt reports.

Officials with Corps of Engineers say releases from dams on the Missouri River are projected at an average of rainfall, but the Northern Plains have gone through the wettest period in more than a century. Colonel Robert Ruch with the Corps of Engineers says the system of dams on the Missouri is operating as designed.

"And that the system wasn't here. You know, as somebody asked me this question the other day in the lower basin, and they said where would the water be, and I pointed⁸ to the blocks that are miles apart. I said it would be across this entire flood plain. So, you know, this is happening in the past, but the system is operating as designed right now."

The Corps of Engineers plans daily releases from dams on the Missouri over the next few days. Several cities along the river in South Dakota have gone through voluntary evacuations. For NPR News, I'm Gary Ellenbolt in Vermillion, South Dakota.

This is NPR News.

It was 30 years ago today that medical officials recognized the illness that would come to be known as AIDS. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports it grew into a health care crisis that continues today.

On June 5th, 1981, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported five gay men in Los Angeles had a rare form of pneumonia⁹. It was usually associated with those who had weakened immune systems. They were the first recognized cases of what would later be known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome¹⁰ or AIDS. Three decades later, more than 30 million people have died from the disease. Six hundred and seventeen thousand of them in the US. Another 33.3 million people are living with AIDS or HIV, the virus that causes it, and more than a million are infected here in the US, though an estimated 20% don't know it. Health officials say that's evidence the AIDS crisis is far from over. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is due in court in Manhattan tomorrow. The former head of the International Monetary¹¹ Fund is charged with trying to rape¹² a hotel maid. He's expected to plead not guilty.

The Miami Herald¹³ reports the US Marshals Service raised more than 400,000 dollars yesterday by selling personal property belonging to disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. The auction¹⁴ will benefit people who lost money investigating in his Ponzi scheme. Some of the successful bidders¹⁵ say that they plan to resell their items for a profit, such as on eBay. Other bidders said they wanted a piece of history by owning something that had once belonged to Madoff. One purchaser paid 200 dollars for 14 pairs of Madoff's underwear.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sprouts   

n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• The wheat sprouts grew perceptibly after the rain. 下了一场雨，麦苗立刻见长。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The sprouts have pushed up the earth. 嫩芽把土顶起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

10 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

11 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

14 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

15 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》